Less Worse and A Little Better
by BewareTheLorelei
Summary: "Why do you get sad when you look at that boy? Did he do something bad?" Sasuke makes a promise to his mother for the good of the clan and she makes one in turn. It's too bad that she can't live to keep it, but Sasuke will do it for her if he must. (Cross-posted on AO3 under the same name)


Sasuke asked his mother once, just as they were leaving the schoolyard, "Why do you get sad when you look at that boy? Did he do something bad?" 

He must have, that boy that stands all alone every day while everyone else is picked up. Why else would all the other kids be so mean if he didn't do anything to deserve it?

Mikoto waited a long time to answer- so long that if Sasuke hadn't been looking at her, hadn't seen the way his mother's eyes became dark with uncharacteristic anger or her mouth pull into a tight frown- he would have thought she didn't hear him. When she finally answered her words were so quiet Sasuke had to strain to hear them.

"That boy is Naruto and he is the son of someone who was very precious to me. It makes me sad to see him all alone like that."

"Well, I'll be his friend, then!" Sasuke said with all the certainty of a five-year-old on a mission, "Then he won't be alone and you don't have to be sad anymore."

Sasuke thought he must have said something wrong because his mother's eyes got watery and she squeezed his hand tight. After crossing the threshold of the Uchiha compound Mikoto stopped and knelt to look him in the eyes. 

"Do you remember when I told you that some people don't like the Uchiha?" She asked him.

Of course he did. It was another time that an innocent question- "Okaasan, why do all the Uchiha live in the compound and not with the rest of the village?- had caused his mother to look sad. "You said it's 'cause they're scared of our Sharingan."

Mikoto nodded back at him and spoke just as gently as she had then, "Well because of that we need to be a little bit careful not to make everyone too scared or they might react badly. Naruto is a very special boy and that scares people too. Some of them think that if the Uchiha make friends with him than we'll be even more powerful and scary together."

Her voice wavered but she didn't stop, just drew in a shaky breath and held his hands a little tighter.

"You must not befriend Naruto, Sasuke."

For a moment, Sasuke was stunned. His mother was always trying to get him to make other friends besides Itachi. To hear her tell him not to was a shift in his worldview. For the first time, Sasuke thought he understood just how scared his mother was of other people's fear.

Sasuke nodded. "I won't, Okaasan. I promise."

Mikoto scooped him up into her arms and hugged him tightly. "Just for now, Sasuke. One day, we will be able to walk up to Naruto and be his friend and love him enough to make up for not being able to now." She whispered in his ear, vicious and as much a promise to herself as it was to him.

Less than 9 months later, Mikoto Uchiha is dead and so is every other Uchiha besides Sasuke and the one who killed them all.

Just two weeks after that Sasuke is back in class. He supposes it's better to be in school than sitting in that empty apartment the Hokage gave him or worse, the compound. Besides, he needs to learn to become stronger.

Recess comes and Sasuke doesn't feel much like playing anymore but the confused stares of his classmates are better than the pitying one from his instructor. It seems a lot of things are like that now. Just better and worse, no good, nothing Sasuke _wants _to do just things he hates less and one singular goal.

_If you want to kill me… curse me! Hate me! And live a long and unsightly life… Run away… run away… and cling to your pitiful life. And then someday, when you have the same eyes as I do, come before me_

Sasuke tries to clear his head as he wanders outside after the rest of his classmates. Yesterday they tried to pull him along, to join their teams and play ball and tag. He'd ignored them. Today, they don't ask, just glance his way, whispering like he can't hear them.

"Have you heard? His whole clan is dead now." "I heard his brother did it. He killed them all and ran away." "He's all alone now"

Sasuke thinks he hates them. He hates a lot of things now, though.

He walks to the shaded area on the side of the schoolyard, away from the majority of the children and their incessant whispers. As he walks further the remaining kids are mostly older and they seem to split off into tight clusters, unwilling to overlap with the other groups. Sasuke feels more than hears the whispers gradually change from a sullen murmur to hushed vitriol, though no longer aimed his way.

"That boy is a monster." "That _thing, _more like." "It's no wonder he's all alone."

Sasuke knows who they're talking about now. It's that boy, Naruto. Sasuke has listened to his mother after that day, didn't try to make friends with Naruto even as he couldn't help but grow aware of just how much cruelty was thrown the other boy's way. Before, Sasuke thought the other kids could be mean. Now he knows that they are nothing short of malicious. Still, family is more import than one boy and even at six Sasuke knows his duty to his clan comes before everything.

But then, there is no clan anymore, is there?

The whispers shift again as the older kids catch sight of him.

"Look it's that Uchiha." "The _only _Uchiha now." "It's horrible, isn't it? His whole clan was killed and now he's all alone."

Sasuke clenches his fists. He _hates _them. He hates their whispers and their pity and their weak attempts at sympathy. They don't understand! None of them can.

Except blue eyes turn up in response to the new whispers, and Sasuke meets them because it's better than focussing on the other countless pairs of eyes focussed on him right now. Naruto's eyes are better because they're not full of confused pity. Instead, there's empathy, sad and sympathetic but different from all the rest because underneath it all is understanding.

Sasuke walks further and keeps watching as blue eyes widen in shock, as they leave him to frantically look around to make sure that Sasuke is really walking towards _him_, as they lock back on to his and fill with utter and complete wonder when Sasuke stop.

"I am Uchiha Sasuke and I want to be your friend," he says, maybe a little more forcefully than is normal or necessary for an introduction but Sasuke just realized he _wants _something and he's going to have it.

Naruto's face splits into the biggest grin that Sasuke has ever seen. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'm going to be the next Hokage! You can be my Anbu guard and we'll be best friends!"

Sasuke doesn't pay attention to the gasps or the fervent whispers that rise all around them as he sits next to Naruto. He wonders if the other children will hate him now too, decides he doesn't care if they do because he hates them too. He thinks about his mother and how she wouldn't be able to be Naruto's friend like she promised she would, how he'll have to be twice the friend to make up for it. He thinks about Itachi and smiles just the tiniest bit because Itachi is strong but he's definitely not as strong as a Kage _and_ Anbu guard.

Sasuke is going to get his revenge and restore his clan, but he's also going to keep his mother's promise for her and love Naruto enough for the both of them and all the time that they missed out on.


End file.
